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Having a fire source and method handy is a necessity when in the backcountry, or in a whole host of other tactical situations. So it’s important to keep something on you that won’t be ruined by a little water, or get broken and leak gas everywhere should it run into some tough terrain or abuse. Exotac knows this, why is why they make a line of dependable, heavy-duty fire gear built to last.
You take your running seriously, and that means you get out there and pump out a few miles every single day, in rain, snow, heat, sun, hail, ice. Actually we don’t recommend running outdoors if there is frozen rain and a thick layer of ice on the ground, because that’s just not safe. But a little rain shouldn’t scare you off, either. With spring right around the corner, and all the April showers (and March ones, and May flowers, to….) you should be prepped and outfitted for a little damp weather. So let’s take a look at the best running rain jackets out there for 2018.
While there’s no shortage of ultralight tents designed for the backcountry, there are few others as creative as Tarptent. Created by an engineer with a love for the outdoors in 1999, the original Tarptent weighed only 18-ounces.
Packrafting isn’t yet a very popular method of outdoor adventuring, but it should be. There’s something soothing, yet invigorating, about spending the day navigating waters as they wind through the wind through mountains, meadows, canyons, getting off every few hours to explore and to camp out the night. It’s that love of uncharted waters that inspired the folks at Kokopelli to create the Rogue Packraft.
Whether you’re want it for relaxing in the backyard on a summer’s night, or for having an easier way to make a fire at the campsite, a gas-powered portable campfire makes it easy. Less work, less smoke, less hassle. Our choice is the Outland Firebowl.
When you’re climbing alpine peaks and hauling a bunch of cold weather gear, you want a tent that weighs as little as possible – but still manages to stand up the absolute onslaught that alpine conditions tend to throw your way. Enter the MSR Advance Pro 2.
As Yogi Berra once said, “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” That’s kind of how we feel about National Parks. Everybody and their brother has heard of Yosemite, which is why when you head out there for a weekend, you’re likely to find…everybody and their brother, straining to take a selfie. Same with Rocky Mountain National Park, and Yellowstone.
If you’re still going on hikes and backpacking trips with an old-fashioned flashlight, you’re behind the game. (Or, even worse, do you not carry one with you on day hikes, just in case?). You really need to jump into the headlamp game and grab the Black Diamond Cosmo.
You might be one for sighting your rifle the old-fashioned way, using nothing but the iron sights that come built-in to the rifle. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But you might be missing out on the sheer accuracy a good rifle scope will add to your shooting and hunting efforts. And many rifles these days don’t even come with iron sights anymore, instead leaving room for the use of a scope.
When splitting wood and tackling other tough jobs around the farm, you need the toughest and most reliable hatchet you can get. The Fiskars X11 is the one you really want. This sturdy hatchet is built in Finland, with blade-making heritage going back more than three centuries and meant to give you the cleanest cuts possible with one hand.
Saracen has been making mountain bikes since 1983, which makes them not only one of the UK’s first makers, but also one of the first in the world. Less than two years later, their founders rode them to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro – which is as hard as it sounds.
As Yeti continues to expand its lineup of outdoor products, they’ve gone ahead and come up with an entirely new product category – camping chairs. The perfect companion to their vast collection of badass coolers. The Yeti Hondo Base Camp Chair is an extra-durable, lightweight outdoor chair built to withstand conditions that weak, flimsy chairs can’t.
The Maxpedition Pygmy Falcon II is a compact, portable urban daypack, made with the true military heritage and design you can expect from Maxpedition.
While some people may opt for a satellite device that sends texts and messages, a good avalanche style transceiver is still a worthy investment, especially for backcountry touring with deep snow. The Arva Axio Beacon features three antennas, as opposed to the single or dual-antennas found on most older models.
It’s snowshoe season. While any old snowshoes can take you out for some nice short hikes in the woods, few can handle really deep snow and really rugged terrain. But the Crescent Moon Gold 10 can.
Hiking in winter is always a ton of fun, but is even better with a good pair of snowshoes. While shallow snow might be relatively easy to walk on, when it gets deep, the going gets tough. That’s where snowshoes come in.
Sierra Designs bills the Sweet Suite 2 as hitting the sweet spot between livable space and lightweight. It does this by using a unique pre-bent pole geometry, which allows it to have a lot more interior space at much less weight; a solid 29 square feet.
Having your favorite four-legged friend join you on your outdoor adventures is one of life’s greatest pleasures. But if your trip involves water, and your water has a thing for swimming, you may want to grab him a life jacket to help keep him safe. We recommend the K-9 Float Coat from Ruffwear.
As much as we love biking in the Rockies, scaling the Tetons or camping in the Sierras, we have to admit; there is some fantastic mountain biking east of the Rockies too. From the East Coast all the way through to the Midwest to the Continental Divide, the rest of the country is filled with breathtaking bike trails.
What, exactly, is so good about the Trailhead Adventure Pants that they were able to raise $424,466 on Kickstarter? They claim to be the highest funded technical pants ever, so they must be good
According to its maker, the BioLite BaseLantern, and its larger version, the Baselantern XL is the first ever flatpack lantern. What exactly does that mean? Exactly what it sounds like
Looking for the ultimate pair of wireless sport headphones? JBL and Under Armor have you covered. The UA Sport Wireless Flex headphones are exactly what you would expect from the two brands – cool, fantastic audio, and a pair of flexible, comfortable sport headphones ready for anything.
When it comes to outdoor activity, it appears that the West and the East Coast get all the love. That is where the mountains are, after all. But that doesn’t the middle of the country doesn’t have great outdoor attractions. Case in point: the Wichita Mountains, located less than two hours from Oklahoma City, and three from Dallas, in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.
Everybody likes a nice, warm puffy jacket. But you’ve never seen one like this before. At least, not this stretchy. The StretchDown DS Hoodie from Mountain Hardwear is something new in the mid-layer market, a jacket that combines the warmth of a puffy jacket with some serious stretch.